Westerly vs. Corona JF-30 6 strings

D30Man

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JF- 30 owners out there.. I am curious to your opinions on the difference between the Westerly version vs. Corona.. I have not ever played one and I am curious for a potential future purchase..
 

Cougar

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JF- 30 owners out there.. I am curious to your opinions on the difference between the Westerly version vs. Corona.. I have not ever played one and I am curious for a potential future purchase..

I have both of these, but of the 12-string variety. They're pretty close. I'm sure others prefer the Westerlys, but I lean toward the Corona in this case. Corona also made great bursts. :tiger:
 

Aristera

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I have both of these, but of the 12-string variety. They're pretty close. I'm sure others prefer the Westerlys, but I lean toward the Corona in this case. Corona also made great bursts. :tiger:

Are there any differences in the neck blocks between the JF30-12's?
 

dreadnut

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I was lusting after an all black Westerly JF-30 once but it got away. BIG sound. Haven't played a Corona, so I can't offer a comparison.
 

D30Man

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I have both of these, but of the 12-string variety. They're pretty close. I'm sure others prefer the Westerlys, but I lean toward the Corona in this case. Corona also made great bursts. :tiger:

Very good.. What is it about the Corona that you prefer?
 

Cougar

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What is it about the Corona that you prefer?

I can't say the tone is really any better. As I said, they're very close in that category. I got lucky with the Corona, though, as it has an ebony fretboard and what must be a AAA top. And a stellar "whiskey" burst. :tiger:

jib801.jpg
 

D30Man

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I can't say the tone is really any better. As I said, they're very close in that category. I got lucky with the Corona, though, as it has an ebony fretboard and what must be a AAA top. And a stellar "whiskey" burst. :tiger:

jib801.jpg

Yeah that is stunning and with an ebony board?? I definitely prefer ebony to rw. That's a real beaut Coug.. Are there discernable differences in tone that you can detect?
 

adorshki

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I got lucky with the Corona, though, as it has an ebony fretboard and what must be a AAA top. And a stellar "whiskey" burst. :tiger:
Anything's possible but I don't think those were ever spec'd with AAA.
At least not by Guild's grading standards, which standards aren't universal and are largely cosmetic.
It's come up before that Guild's standards appear to have been a little higher than the industry in general, and what they called AA may well have been graded AAA at a different maker.
Compare the silking and coloration to your '11 F50R which should be AAA, I'd expect the F50's top to show minimal if any coloring variations and the silking to be extremely consistent across the entire top such that no "ribbon-y" bands or stripes are readily apparent.
That's how my F65ce's AAA top is, and truth to tell I actually like my (Corona) D40's AA top best of all 3 because it has more character: a little bit of coloring along some grain lines and on the edges of the (two) 2" wide ribbons of coarser silking coming down from each side of the bridge.
My D25 with "standard" sitka has a solid racing stripe as wide as the bridge down the center, and a slight symmetrical diagonal bearclaw mark about an inch below the bridge, considered a defect at that time.

For Westerly era at least, and wouldn't surprise me if they were still using wood he selected in Corona, Willie Fritscher was the man responsible for wood selection:
http://www.westerlyguildguitars.com/articles/woodselection.pdf
'01 price list shows AA tops and an ebony board:
http://www.westerlyguildguitars.com/files/Guild2001.pdf

From the angle of that pic I see some stripiness that would indicate AA to me.
Having said all that it also wouldn't surprise me if Fender decided the economic benefits of using AAA they had in stock to make guitars outweighed the cost of acquiring more wood and thus possibly your JF30-12 did get a AAA.
But hopefully it'll give you a yardstick for comparison.

:friendly_wink:
 
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beecee

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Cougar....stop posting that darned photo...….

man I love that guitar!
 

Cougar

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...From the angle of that pic I see some stripiness that would indicate AA to me....

Yeah, slight variation of color in those bands. On the other hand, it's pretty well covered with silkiness.... that doesn't show up well in my pics....

jib786.jpg
 

Cougar

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Are there discernable differences in tone that you can detect?

The notes are separated more in the Corona. I'm not calling the Westerly muddy, but the frequency spectrum of its notes is somehow a bit "wider" than the Corona. I guess that could be the strings, too. I'm a novice! :tiger:
 

Cougar

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Are there any differences in the neck blocks between the JF30-12's?

The end face of the block looks to be the same shape on both. They're both covered by a battery pocket, unfortunatey, so I can't see if there is any date behind there....
 

adorshki

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Yeah, slight variation of color in those bands. On the other hand, it's pretty well covered with silkiness.... that doesn't show up well in my pics....
jib786.jpg

Yep, I started realizing a while back that's almost a Guild hallmark even with the "standard" stuff, most for sale listings with good photos show it from the '70's on and even earlier..(think it must have been Willie's legacy).
All of mine are well-covered, it's the coarseness and ease of visibility between 'em that varies, and surprisingly to me at first was that the F65ce's is actually the hardest to see, because it's very fine, and possibly because the top's still so "white".
Between the D40 and the D25, the '40's silking is coarser and more readily visible in the "ribbons", on my display it looks like I can see evidence of similar characteristics on yours.
Between the ribbons is a more finely grained but still very consistent and visible silking
I bet the areas where it looks bit coarser you'd see consistently-silked ribbons running down the top when viewed from the right angle. (Slightly off of vertical with light from overhead to the side, no glare, you did a pretty good job in the pic. Try looking at it across the top from more of an angle, ie from about 3/4 of the way down the lower bass bout towards upper treble bout. The shift in visibility as your point of view changes is known as chatoyancy and is known to be particularly difficult to photograph, but if they're there they'll show up at the right angle and their consistency can be seen when shifting point of view slightly to realize they're visible for their whole length including the upper bouts..)
THAT's one of the things that makes it even more appealing than the AAA to me.
On the D25 though, the grain fades in and out a bit in the "ribbons".
The F65ce doesn't even have any "ribbons" like the other 2.
 
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I actually have a 92 ( Westerly) and a 02 ( Corona) JF30. The 92 is blonde, the 02 is Black.
At the moment, I can’t put my hands on either one. (On july 28 I had an accident that landed me in the hospital with a fractured hip and a femur broken in 3 places. At home now, recuperating with 2 titanium rods and screws, and a bit of pain.)
Anyway, I’m a day or two perhaps I can talk the g/f into popping the cases and answering your questions.

From memory, the 92 is a bit heavier than the 02. But they both have about the same volume and projection and tone. Perhaps the 02 is a bit brighter in tone. Neither are what I would call a “ cannon”, but they are plenty loud. I have them strung with D’ Addario PB 12’s. They both have bone saddle and nut.

The 92 is a bit warmer sounding overall and feels like a tank.. just a solid workhorse of a guitar. It has the K&K pickup.
The 02 is a bit brighter sounding, feels a little lighter, still a very solid instrument, with an LR Baggs pickup.

I still enjoy playing both, although my first choice here at home is one of my F-50r models, both 2005 from Tacoma.
 

Cougar

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....(On july 28 I had an accident that landed me in the hospital with a fractured hip and a femur broken in 3 places. At home now, recuperating with 2 titanium rods and screws, and a bit of pain.)....

Holy smokes, Retro! That's a heck of a development! Best wishes in your recovery!

Mrs. Cougar had a similar deal several weeks ago - a fractured tibia plateau. Lots of hardware placed in there to stabilize the break. Non weight bearing for weeks and weeks! Lots of bed time....
 

D30Man

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I actually have a 92 ( Westerly) and a 02 ( Corona) JF30. The 92 is blonde, the 02 is Black.
At the moment, I can’t put my hands on either one. (On july 28 I had an accident that landed me in the hospital with a fractured hip and a femur broken in 3 places. At home now, recuperating with 2 titanium rods and screws, and a bit of pain.)
Anyway, I’m a day or two perhaps I can talk the g/f into popping the cases and answering your questions.

From memory, the 92 is a bit heavier than the 02. But they both have about the same volume and projection and tone. Perhaps the 02 is a bit brighter in tone. Neither are what I would call a “ cannon”, but they are plenty loud. I have them strung with D’ Addario PB 12’s. They both have bone saddle and nut.

The 92 is a bit warmer sounding overall and feels like a tank.. just a solid workhorse of a guitar. It has the K&K pickup.
The 02 is a bit brighter sounding, feels a little lighter, still a very solid instrument, with an LR Baggs pickup.

I still enjoy playing both, although my first choice here at home is one of my F-50r models, both 2005 from Tacoma.

Dang RR! Hoping for a speedy recovery sir!! My goodness!

Thanks for the detail regarding your JF-30's.. This helps a lot.. Not surprised the Westerly is a little heavier.. I am seeing a theme emerge here and that is there really doesn't seem to be much difference between the two.. That's what I am seeing anyway.
 
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